Jarosite formation in deep Antarctic ice provides a window into acidic, water-limited weathering on Mars

Giovanni Baccolo (), Barbara Delmonte, P. B. Niles, Giannantonio Cibin, Elena Di Stefano, Dariush Hampai, Lindsay Keller, Valter Maggi, Augusto Marcelli, Joseph Michalski, Christopher Snead and Massimo Frezzotti
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Giovanni Baccolo: University of Milano-Bicocca
Barbara Delmonte: University of Milano-Bicocca
P. B. Niles: NASA Johnson Space Center
Giannantonio Cibin: Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Elena Di Stefano: University of Milano-Bicocca
Dariush Hampai: Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Lindsay Keller: NASA Johnson Space Center
Valter Maggi: University of Milano-Bicocca
Augusto Marcelli: Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Joseph Michalski: University of Hong Kong
Christopher Snead: Jacobs, NASA Johnson Space Center
Massimo Frezzotti: University Roma Tre

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Many interpretations have been proposed to explain the presence of jarosite within Martian surficial sediments, including the possibility that it precipitated within paleo-ice deposits owing to englacial weathering of dust. However, until now a similar geochemical process was not observed on Earth nor in other planetary settings. We report a multi-analytical indication of jarosite formation within deep ice. Below 1000 m depth, jarosite crystals adhering on residual silica-rich particles have been identified in the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica) and interpreted as products of weathering involving aeolian dust and acidic atmospheric aerosols. The progressive increase of ice metamorphism and re-crystallization with depth, favours the relocation and concentration of dust and the formation of acidic brines in isolated environments, allowing chemical reactions and mineral neo-formation to occur. This is the first described englacial diagenetic mechanism occurring in deep Antarctic ice and supports the ice-weathering model for jarosite formation on Mars, highlighting the geologic importance of paleo ice-related processes on this planet. Additional implications concern the preservation of dust-related signals in deep ice cores with respect to paleoclimatic reconstructions and the englacial history of meteorites from Antarctic blue ice fields.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20705-z

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